


A Dozen White Peonies

by glowspider



Series: The Uzumaki Conundrum [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 08:25:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16384643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glowspider/pseuds/glowspider
Summary: Sakura is a third wheel. Until she isn't.





	A Dozen White Peonies

**Author's Note:**

> 'I plucked pink blossoms from mine apple-tree  
> And wore them all that evening in my hair:  
> Then in due season when I went to see  
> I found no apples there."
> 
> -Christina Rossetti, _An Apple Gathering_

She strides into the Yamanaka Flower Shop, her appearance heralded by the soft tinkling of bells over the door. From her line of sight, she can see Ino standing behind the front counter, platinum hair artfully swept over her face, her pale eyes glued to a magazine.

Ino automatically launches into the customer greeting, not bothering to look up. 

“Welcome to Yamanaka Flo—Sakura! What are you doing here?” Ino inquires in a chipper voice as soon as she recognizes her friend at the door.

Sakura shifts her weight from foot to foot in discomfort, not sure how to explain her presence without Ino teasing her.

It’s not that Ino is particularly judgmental or mean to Sakura. Well, that’s not quite true, but they’re close friends and have been for many years. The playful rivalry between them is fun on both sides.

It’s not even that Sakura never goes to the flower shop. She and Ino meet up here to gossip about people in town and catch up with each other after long missions. Hell, Sakura is in here every other week with Sasuke while he stares at the rows of orange tiger lilies and brilliant sunflowers, too much of a coward to buy either type for Naruto. 

No, unfamiliarity with the flower shop certainly isn’t the problem.

The problem lies in Sakura’s leather-gloved hands, clutched carefully so she doesn’t crush them with her freakish strength.

You see, Sakura is holding a beautiful bouquet of a dozen white peonies. A dozen white peonies that a secret admirer gifted to her this morning.

 

\----

 

They were on the front stoop of the house that morning, or so her mom tells her. Sakura wakes up late, exhausted from a red-eye shift at the hospital, and she’s going to be late for training if she doesn’t leave right now.

Her civilian parents, bless them, have toast ready and wrapped in a paper towel for her to take, along with a protein smoothie in a beat-up thermos. 

Her hair is dripping wet in a messy ponytail as she busts into the kitchen, swooping in to grab her breakfast on the go.

Sakura stops short at the bouquet on the table, because her mother and father aren’t usually the type to exchange flowers. 

Her mom notices Sakura staring and chuckles at her confusion.

“They were out front when I went to grab the paper this morning,” her mother says with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Her father pipes up, his bushy, gray eyebrows and pale, green eyes visible over the top of ‘The Konoha Tribune.’ 

“It’s addressed to you. The sender didn’t put their name, though,” he says as he wiggles his eyebrows teasingly.

“Looks like you’ve got a secret admirer,” Sakura’s mother singsongs.

Sakura starts to protest but cuts herself off. She doesn’t have time to deal with this nonsense. If she waits any longer, she’ll be running extra laps around the village as warm up.

As she dashes out the door with breakfast in hand, she hears her mother voice wafting from the kitchen.

“And peonies at this time of year! Such beautiful flowers…”

Peonies, huh?

Sakura will have to remember that.

 

\----

 

So now Sakura is standing here, still decked out in her sweaty training gear, toting a massive flower bouquet from her secret admirer.

Ino, to her credit, doesn’t bat at an eye at the odd sight.

Instead, she just sighs, placing her magazine on the counter and walking over to where Sakura has barricaded herself.

“In case you forgot, blocking the door is a fire hazard,” Ino announces to the nearly empty store.

She motions towards the back room, beckoning Sakura to come with her. 

Sakura frowns but follows her friend anyways, her posture like that of a soldier marching to war—determined and somber.

Once they reach the privacy of the back room, Ino shuts the heavy metal door with a slam and swivels around to face Sakura.

“Why don’t you tell me about the little bundle you’ve got there?” Ino questions, her breath puffing out white with every word in the chill air.

Sakura sticks the hand holding the flowers out to Ino like it’s a cursed object or something to be reviled.

“A dozen white peonies. My mom found them on the front stoop this morning addressed to me, but the sender forgot to put their name,” she says as Ino gingerly take the flowers.

Ino lets out a chuckle at that, and Sakura rubs her uncovered arms together. She’s not uncomfortable or embarrassed, okay? It’s just really cold back here.

“I’m impressed that you even know what a peony is, Forehead.”

Sakura scowls at the old nickname.

“And cut the crap,” Ino adds. “We both know that this mysterious sender didn’t forget their name by accident.”

See, this is exactly what Sakura was afraid of when she entered the flower shop to find Ino at the counter.

It’s been such a long day. She’s done taking shit from people.

“Ino-Pig,” She says with a maliciousness only a teenage girl can muster, “for once in your life, use your big mouth for something useful, and tell me what you know about this bouquet.”

Ino opens her mouth as if to object but closes it when she realizes how tense Sakura is. It’s literally just a secret admirer, and Sakura’s acting the flowers were poisoned or something. Her friend is such a piece of work, Ino thinks with fond annoyance.

She eyes the peonies with a thoughtful expression. They really are quite beautiful, not quite fully bloomed and still folded up like balls. In about two days, they’ll be breathtaking, judging from the fullness of the bulbs and the brightness of the color. 

“In the language of flowers,” Ino starts, “peonies have multiple meanings, complex like the petal structure that makes them so popular.”

Sakura rolls her eyes, because of course Ino would find a way to draw out a simple question like this. Of course Ino would romanticize an inanimate object.

“Like many other flowers, they represent love, compassion, and appreciation”

This so-called ‘language of the flowers’ is sounding pretty useless right about now, Sakura thinks snidely.

Ino continues, unshaken by Sakura’s lukewarm reaction.

“But the actual color of the peony indicates different values and types of love. The white peony,” Ino gestures at the bouquet, “signifies bashfulness, perhaps because it is a love between two strangers or mere acquaintances.”

“What dusty tome did you get all this sugary crap from?” Sakura jokes, unable to resist teasing her oldest and dearest frenemy. She’s definitely been spending too much time around Sasuke and Naruto.

Ino rolls her eyes at the clumsy attempt at deflection

“Perhaps what’s most notable about the peony,” Ino continues, “is its historical context and meaning. Far to the South and West of here, past even Suna, lived an ancient people with strange and ancient gods. There is a myth from there about the origin of the peony.”

Oh great, a useless fairytale about a useless bunch of flowers!

“There was a physician by the name of Paeon, whose deft hands and skill with the human body made him prideful. One day, he defied his teacher’s rules in what substances he could heal with, using the extract of a sacred and religious flower for his own medicine. However, the teacher was the God of healers, and declared that he would punish the disobedient Paeon with death. Fearing the waste of such incredible, mortal talent, the other gods took pity on Paeon, and saved his life by turning him into the first peony.”

Sakura isn’t impressed with the story. She finds its logic and creativity lacking--if you’re gonna write another predictable story about person turning into a plant, at least make it for a good cause.

But she doesn’t voice any of this out loud, because Sakura finally remembers where she’s heard the word peony before. 

“It’s a common home remedy,” Sakura says to Ino, “peony bark is good for pain relief and is often ground up to apply to skin as a topical cream.”

“But,” she amends quickly, before Tsunade can overhear her extolling the values of alternative medicine, “doctors have long since figured out how to extract chemical compounds from substances like peonies to create actual prescription drugs. It’s recommended to just take aspirin or use steroid creams, rather than crush up some flowers from your backyard. You’re more likely to avoid rashes that way.”

Ino quirks an eyebrow at the long-winded explanation. “Wow. What old and dusty medical tome did you get that information out of?”

Sakura frowns, because she doesn’t want to start another argument with Ino about why essential oils and ‘healing’ crystals won’t save a person bleeding out from a stab wound in the stomach or kill off cancer cells in the lungs. It seems like the more science and medicine advance, the more people want to go back to dying indiscriminately from the plague. 

Ino seems to sense Sakura’s irritation, thankfully, because she changes the subject quickly.

“Your mysterious paramour did their research. Healing flowers that may also cause rash for the lovely and dangerous Doctor Haruno? It’s a perfect fit!” 

Ino jokingly swoons, falling into Sakura’s strong arms, which don’t hesitate to drop her on the floor.

She gets to her feet with every ounce of grace possible, because Ino is elegant, even in good humor.

Sakura remains unimpressed, her mouth one thin, flat line.

“Ino,” Sakura intones, “just cut the bullshit and tell me who bought the flowers.”

Ino huffs at that, annoyed that Sakura isn’t playing along anymore. She hates when Sakura gets serious and moody like Mr. Uchiha McBrooding Face.

“Would if I could, but we don’t sell peonies this time of year.”

Ino punctuates her statement by waving her hands about the freezer room.

Sakura’s brows furrow in bewilderment. What kind of flower shop doesn’t sell peonies?

Ino clarifies, seeing Sakura’s mounting frustration.

“Peonies blossom in early spring and summer. And if you haven’t noticed, it’s October. Whoever bought these flowers had to have gotten them from a greenhouse.”

Oh, that’s just great. Sakura’s wasted her one free afternoon this week on a dead end. She runs through the mental calendar in her head doing a few quick mental calculations. The next moment she’ll have time to investigate will be a week out from now, when the beautiful bouquet will have already wilted. 

It upsets Sakura more than she thought it would.

She offers a weak apology for wasting Ino’s time, gathering up the bouquet into her arms before hurrying out of the shop. 

She’s exhausted to her bones, her second wind spent on questioning Ino. As she sets out on the path home, she takes care to avoid Ichiraku, sure that her teammates are already eating dinner there. She can’t stand them seeing her like this—tired and thin and sad.

 

\----

 

It’s not that Sakura is insecure, per say.

Rather, she’s stunningly confident and capable for a fifteen-year-old girl, thanks to years of tutorship under both Kakashi the infamous Copy-Nin, and Tsunade the mighty Sanin.

But between her busy schedule with volunteer nursing shifts at the hospital, and chakra theory lessons alongside Shikamaru’s genius-ass from the Hokage himself, and training with Team 7, and chores back at home with her family, and Naruto’s spur of the moment friendship dinners, and—

She breathes deeply, in and out, taking a moment to slow her overly active brain down.

Think of it like this:

Sakura was one of the civilian kids at the academy, and a girl to boot. Nobody ever expected her to graduate, much less make it to Chunin.

But at the academy, Sakura was book smart in a way so few kids were. She launched to the top of her class based on test scores alone, and after befriending Sasuke with his inhumanly natural talent for all things Shinobi, she practiced and practiced till she got better at the physical elements too.

Sakura is smart. Maybe not as smart as a Nara Shinobi, but her hard-work more than makes up for it.

And somewhere along the way, people started taking notice.

It’s how she got an apprenticeship with Tsunade, and it’s how she has the select honor of being one of the few Shinobi in the village with personal lessons from the Hokage. 

Don’t get it wrong—she’s so, so grateful for the opportunities she’s had, and for her astoundingly supportive friends and family which have made it all possible.

But Sakura is still just a kid. This schedule is unsustainable in the long run, not that Sakura will admit that aloud until she literally collapses from exhaustion.

These flowers have reminded her about all the stuff she’s missing, in her haste to grow up.

Sakura doesn’t get to have silly sleepovers where friends read her fortune on her palm. She doesn’t get to gossip about crushes like some of her peers, too focused on maintaining healthy working relationships. She doesn’t get to grow her hair out long or wear pretty dresses or put on makeup for fun, because she’s always in scrubs or athletic gear unless it’s a holiday. 

Sakura gets up from her bed, walking to the full bodied-mirror that hangs on her closet door. She imagines what kind of person would see this warrior’s body, this type-A personality, and think, “Her beauty is worthy of flowers.”

Here, confronted with her own reflection, she can try to visualize it.

She’s got muscular arms, shaped by years’ worth of training against talented Shinobi and accented by her often-worn sleeveless shirts, which allow for more range of movement on the battlefield.

She’s all straight lines and hard angles, lacking the impressive cup size of Tsunade-sensei or the gentle curves of Hyuuga Hinata. 

No, it certainly isn’t her body type that drew the secret admirer’s attention. 

She moves onto her face next.

Pale green eyes, the same as her father’s. It's not a terrible color, per say, but in certain lighting it looks more sickly than jewel-toned. There’s always bags under her eyes too, and concealer she puts of them just rubs off during practice. Her nose is long, a bit too big to match the rest of her delicate features, and her forehead, as always, feels like it takes up half of her face. Her haircut accentuates this, short and choppy from a rushed cutting job on a mission a few weeks back.

Well, the secret admirer certainly didn’t care about her looks, that’s for sure.

That just leaves her personality. 

Granted, Sakura has a fantastic personality, but for her admirer to actually admire it, they would have to know her personally.

It narrows the playing field significantly.

Enough so that Sakura can make a list in her head. It’s short, only including her teammates and closest friends. 

Her first suspicion is Ino, simply because her friend’s family owns a flower shop. If it was, Sakura would certainly be flattered. 

She conjures up Ino’s image in her mind, visualizing her childhood best friend in precise detail. She’ll admit, there have been times when she felt attraction towards Ino, but how could she not? Her platinum blonde hair and the long, graceful lines of her body caught Sakura’s eye back in their Genin days. Everyone was a mess of hormones back then, and some wires must have crossed in Sakura’s brain, because she could never tell if her face was flushed in anger or attraction around her number one frenemy. 

Luckily, things have settled down since then, and the two girls have been friends for too long for there to be anything romantic between them. Besides, Ino’s got a different civilian boy on her arm every week.

She spares a thought for Sai next. 

No. Just no.

Sai might enjoy sex jokes more than any teenage boy Sakura has ever known, but he’s most definitely single by choice. The crop tops and the lecherous stares are all part of a carefully constructed persona, meant to be as off-putting as possible. 

Sakura, being his teammate, has seen underneath Sai’s mask, and there’s no desire for romance there. 

Giving another shudder at the thought, Sakura crosses Sai off of her ‘mystery admirer’ list.

That leaves the other dark haired and brooding teammate. Uchiha Fucking Sasuke.

World’s worst best friend, really. But Sakura is a good person and big softie at heart, so she holds onto him the way she holds onto all her childhood stuffed animals. 

The mere concept of Sasuke being her admirer makes Sakura burst out into peals of laughter because Naruto exists.

Sakura has been reluctantly third wheeling with those two ever since the Uzumakis came to Konoha. Sasuke was smitten from day one, and as his friendship with Naruto grew, so did his crush. The whole situation has more unresolved sexual tension than a young adult novel.

It’s annoying to watch on most days, how Sasuke demands Naruto’s attention every hour they are together. On a typical training day, Naruto will complement Sakura on her Taijutsu, only for Sasuke to interrupt by insulting Naruto. Naruto, predictably, will get into Sasuke’s face, yelling right back. He’ll scream at Sasuke to wipe that “smug smile off of his bastard face”, completely oblivious to the face that Sasuke is one touch away from a boner. 

Gross.

But still, Sakura is rooting for them. 

She supposes she can take Naruto off her list. What a bummer. If Naruto somehow developed ten more years of emotional intelligence overnight, he’d probably know how to treat a girl right.

There’s only one other person she can think of that she interacts with on a daily basis. 

Nara Shikamaru.

He’s an interesting case from a purely background knowledge perspective. 

For one thing, they train together with the Hokage, and there’s a good amount of respect between them, for their shared intellect and unique capabilities. They’re both the natural-born leaders of their teams, and Shikamaru even teases Sakura back on a good day. He’s got a dry wit Sakura can appreciate, and underneath his lazy persona is a boy with a good heart. He’s patient with Ino and kind to Choji, as much as he pretends he doesn’t care.

But Sakura is a bit of a gossip queen, and Ino has told her some interesting rumors about Shikamaru and his ongoing correspondence with that Suna girl from the Chunin Exams.

Shikamaru might pretend otherwise, but he’s taken.

Sakura tries to imagine any other possible suspect, but the only other name she comes up with is Karin’s, and there’s absolutely no chance of that.

She sighs to herself. This whole exercise has been pointless. If the admirer wanted to come forward, they would’ve signed their name, and given her flowers that didn’t mean ‘bashfulness’ in Ino’s stupid flower language. 

 

She tucks herself into her bed, and the last thing she sees before she falls asleep is the beautiful bouquet of peonies laid along her vanity table.

 

\----

 

The next morning, she is awoken by a commotion in the kitchen.

Blinking sleep from her eyes, Sakura turns to her alarm clock.

It reads 10:47 in flashing red lights. 

Shit! Sakura is late to her morning shift at the hospital by almost five hours.

She throws on the first pair of clothes she finds—it’s the sweaty training gear she wore yesterday, draped haphazardly over her desk chair, and runs out to the kitchen.

She rubs at her eyes when she reaches the cozy kitchenette, sure she is seeing double, because there are four people at the table instead of the normal two.

Her parents are in their normal spots, as expected on a Saturday morning.

Turning her head toward the two blonde...guests, Sakura realizes what the commotion must’ve been from.

Naruto flashes a brilliant grin, chirping out a “Good morning Sakura-chan!”

Beside him, Tsunade-sensei nods curtly.

 _Oh crap_ , Sakura thinks with growing fear, _Tsunade’s pissed at me because I missed my shift and now she’s going to drop me as a student and I’ll never have a career in the Shinobi world again._

But that can’t be quite right, because Naruto is here too.

_Unless he knows too, and he’s here to comfort me._

Sakura takes shaky steps towards the table, face already burning in shame and sadness. She sits down and there’s a beat of silence.

Sakura’s mother speaks up first.

“Tsunade-sama and I had a talk, dear. We’re going to work on making a new schedule for you, so that you’re not so overbooked and exhausted all the time.” She says gently, like she might spook Sakura if she speaks too loudly.

“Congratulations, kid,” Tsunade says into her mug of coffee. “You have today off.”

Sakura blinks in confusion as she processes the information.

This can’t be right. Sakura can’t just take a day off! She’ll get behind on her training, her medical license certification will fall to the wayside, and she won’t be able to be directly promoted to Special Jounin in a year-and-a-half, the way she meticulously planned it out.

As if sensing her protests, Sakura’s father adds, “You’ve been burning the candle at both ends lately. You’re still just fifteen years old. You should have free time to spend with friends, to have hobbies, to just relax and be a teenager.”

To just be a teenager? What the hell! Sakura is a trained killer. She’s beaten men twice her age and size to a bloody pulp with her bare fists alone. She’s held people’s bowels in from fatal injuries, moved heaven and earth and the chakra that flows through the very existence of her being to save lives. But sure, it makes sense for her to ease up a little, so she can worry about silly things like secret admirers.

Her rage must be palpable in the air, because Tsunade heaves a heavy sigh before pitching in.

“You’re already incredibly far along in your training, better than me when I was your age. I should have realized earlier that this schedule would be unsustainable, even if you were a fully-fledged Special Jounin.”

It eases Sakura’s discomfort a little, to hear such high praise from Tsunade herself, indirect though it might be.

With Sakura at a loss for words, but seemingly complacent in her new schedule, Tsunade excuses herself from the table.

Naruto still waits patiently at the table. Sakura’s mother has put a piece of fresh toast and some yogurt on a plate in front of Sakura, so through mouth of bread, she glares at Naruto and speaks. 

“What are you doing here, Goldilocks?”

It comes out more muffled than she intended, but Naruto picks up what she’s saying anyways.

“I was coming over here to check on you because we didn’t see you after practice yesterday, and I ran into the Old Lady because she was heading in the same direction, and then your parents invited me in for breakfast, so here I am!” He finishes proudly.

Sakura sighs and continues eating her breakfast. It’s too early in the morning for Naruto's infectious joy.

 

\----

 

After a brief shower and a change of clothes, Sakura steps out of the house, Naruto still glued to her side. She starts down the path away from her home until she’s out of earshot of any possible eavesdroppers, like her well-intentioned but nosy parents.

“What are you actually doing here, Naruto?” she whisper-hisses.

Naruto, for once in his goddamn life, is quiet when he responds, “Ino told me about your...mystery person.”

Fucking Ino. First everybody in town is worried about Sakura’s work habits, making her cut back on her hours at the hospital, and now Ino is telling practically everyone in Konoha about Sakura’s borderline nonexistent love life. 

Naruto, at least, has the goodwill to look embarrassed about his prying behavior.

“I figured I could take you to talk to an employee at the only greenhouse in town,” he admits shyly.

Sakura freezes at that, because it’s a surprisingly good idea from one of the biggest idiots she knows.

“Deal,” she says before she can back out in cowardice. 

Now that she has some free time, she might as well solve this stupid mystery.

 

\----

 

Konoha’s one and only greenhouse is nestled in the hills that overlook most of downtown Konoha, with a view of Founder’s Park and the Hokage Monument across the city. It was built about a year ago as a thank-you and memorial to the people of Uzushio. At least, that’s what all the official press releases stated. 

Tabloids and gossipy civilians and Shinobi alike all have a different theory on why it was built. There were whispers of nepotism at play, the most popular theory being that the greenhouse was really a gift from the Hokage to his fiery lover, Uzumaki Kushina, as an anniversary present. The idea was completely unfounded, especially considering the fact that the Hokage and the Uzumaki Clan Head have yet to confirm any relationship beyond mild friendship. But still, with Uzumaki Naruto running around Konoha with his shockingly familiar blue eyes and blonde hair, it’s hard to deny there wasn’t an affair of some sort.

Besides, it’s not something Sakura would ever bring up around Naruto, because that would be incredibly insensitive. He’s not comfortable talking about his family situation, even among his closest friends, and Sakura respects him too much to invade his boundaries like that. 

But disregarding its questionable origin, the Uzushio Greenhouse is a phenomenal place. The Uzumakis have settled into Konoha, not as Shinobi but as reputable diplomats over the past few years. Kushina and her relatives have helped ease tensions greatly between the Hidden Villages in this post war political climate, and on each of their visits, they are gifted rare and beautiful plants and flowers from the various Shinobi and civilian nations alike. Each gift goes directly to the greenhouse, where it is tended by Konoha’s foremost botanists.

By this point, the Uzushio Greenhouse is probably the most biodiverse place in the world.

It’s hard to get tickets to get in, with the demand to visit being so high. Tickets always go up at the beginning of each month, and usually sell out in fifteen minutes flat. 

Luckily, Sakura’s got connections. Connections with the last name Uzumaki.

Naruto is signing them and breezing through security faster than Sakura can sing the alphabet.

Evidently, he’s scheduled them for a consultation with one of his family members who works here.

They weave their way through isles of greenery, the hot glass causing sweat to gather on Sakura’s brow, until they finally step in behind a freezer door similar to the one in the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Talk about Deja vu.

Across the room, there’s a man in his early sixties bent behind a florist’s counter, thinning and silvery red hair and smile lines around his eyes.

Naruto greets him with a big wave and a loud “Uncle Atsuo!”

The old man blinks owlishly through his round glasses before bursting out in an equally wide smile.

“Little Naruto!” he says in an excited voice, before rushing over to them to envelop Naruto in a big hug.

“Uncle,” Naruto says in a polite, I’m-talking-to-old-people sort of voice, “this is my friend Sakura. Sakura, this is Uzumaki Atsuo. He oversees inventory and all commercial transactions within the greenhouse.”

Sakura extends a hand, giving the man her most professional handshake she saves for higher-ups at the hospital. 

“What are two kids like you doing in a boring old person place like the greenhouse?” Atsuo asks in a teasing voice.

“Isn’t it enough to want to see my favorite uncle?” Naruto says with a puppy dog stare.

Atsuo guffaws at the question, slapping Naruto on the back in his fit of laughter before regaining his composure. 

“Cut the bullshit, boy. You’re as obvious as your mother. You’d think they'd teach Shinobi how to lie properly.”

“Fine! You got me!” Naruto replies, throwing his hands up in mock-defeat. “We came to ask you a few questions about some flowers sold here in the past week.”

“Well, my memory isn't so hot these days,” he says pensively, “but I’ll do my best.”

Naruto nods encouragingly in Sakura’s direction, urging her to ask away.

“It was an order of a dozen white peonies, still budding,” Sakura says.

Atsuo’s eyes light up immediately. So much for having a crappy memory. This guy could probably tell Sakura what every single plant in the greenhouse is, both in scientific and common name, by memory alone. 

“Yes, I remember. It’s hard to get peonies this time of the year, unless you’ve got a greenhouse like us. The boy was so insistent that he wanted white peonies, though I tried to convince him to order something cheaper,” Atsuo says with fondness in his eyes. “Ah, to be young and in love.”

Naruto turns towards Sakura, his eyes alight with excitement.

“So it was a boy! And probably someone from our class!”

Atsuo nods at their shared revelation. 

“A secret admirer? Too bad I cannot remember this customer’s name or what he looks like,” Atsuo says with a put-upon sigh.

“Liar!” Naruto screeches back.

“You know I can’t break customer confidentiality, Naruto. Especially when my customer paid such a premium price.”

Naruto frowns.

But Sakura isn’t paying attention, because she’s realizing now that her admirer went through a hell of a lot of effort to impress her. She feels a bit guilty, and possibly a little flattered.

Naruto is still whining at Atsuo for more information, and Sakura cuts him off by dragging her friend out of the freezer, uttering multiple thank-yous over her shoulder as they leave.

As they weave their way out of the greenhouse, Naruto audibly runs through a list of potential suspects. His list is far more extensive than Sakura’s was. It’s nice that he thinks anyone who doesn’t know her that closely would still have feelings for her, but it’s a bit of a stretch.

On their way through the Suna section, where cactuses with sharp needles point out into the aisles, they run into two familiar faces.

Kushina-san and Hokage-sama are strolling the same aisle, arm in arm.

“Naruto,” Kushina says with something like shock in her voice, “what are you doing here?”

Naruto goes still, his posture stiff and tense. 

“Mother, Hokage-sama,” he nods flatly. “I was just visiting with Sakura. You know, for fun. Because the greenhouse is a public place where anybody is welcome.”

“Right,” the Hokage approves nervously. “It’s nice to see you taking a break from your studies, Sakura,” he says, clearly eager to shift the focus off of him and Naruto’s mother.

They bid each other awkward goodbyes, and Naruto rushes Sakura out of the store.

He’s a lot quieter as they walk back to town, the unexpected encounter clearly weighing on him.

Sakura only has a faint idea of Naruto’s family situation, only hearing bits and pieces of the story from Sasuke, but she thinks she gets it. There are some abandonment issues there and years of built of resentment that Naruto is clearly trying to work through. It probably doesn’t help that Naruto's parents won’t acknowledge him as their son, despite the fact that the rumors follow him around town anyways.

Maybe getting her work hours cut back is a good thing. Sakura can spend more time getting to hang out with Naruto, especially when Sasuke isn’t also there. He’s a really good friend, judging by how emotionally invested he is in finding Sakura’s secret admirer. She’s glad he moved here two years ago.

 

\----

 

As they get closer to town, Naruto eases back into his usual attitude, chattering away while Sakura half-listens.

Part way through the shopping district, they pass Gai’s Team plus Karin, who are out for lunch.

Karin and Naruto trade barbed greetings the way siblings often do, and Tenten is inside the nearest store, looking at “a new shipment of shuriken or whatever” according to Karin.

That leaves Sakura with the two boys.

“Hello, Sakura!” Lee says in his usual upbeat tone.

Neji glances at Lee before waving briefly to Sakura.

“We heard about your new schedule,” Lee says quietly, as if he isn’t sure whether it’s okay to talk about.

God, Sakura hates Konoha sometimes. It seems like everybody is in everybody else’s business.

Neji rolls his eyes at Lee’s awkward statement.

“What he means,” Neji corrects in a bored tone, “is that we’re glad we’ll get to see you around town more. It’ll be nice to train with all of Team 7 again.”

“That’s right!” Lee exclaims. “You are one of the most intelligent Shinobi I have had the pleasure of sparring with, not to mention you are immensely strong. Your skill inspires me to become better with Taijutsu when I run through my training regimen every morning.”

Sakura flushes a little at the compliments, despite how familiar as she is with talking to Lee. He seems completely oblivious to his own technique, which has stunned Sakura many times before.

“Well, thank you, Lee. I can’t wait to start training with you guys again.” she replies kindly.

Neji opens his mouth to say something, but at that moment, Tenten comes out of a nearby store, and Naruto and Karin breaks from their freaky huddle in the corner.

Gai’s Team is off with the same energy they showed up in, freaky mirror images of their overly excitable sensei.

Sakura watches them go with a warm feeling in her gut, already reassured about her work hours.

Something about Lee looked different though. He was wearing civilian clothes for once, and he got a haircut, finally turning the geeky bowl cut into a fashionable undercut. Sakura wonders if Ino had something to do with it, because Lee looked...good. He’s always kind and polite, and fiercely talented, but he’s never been a handsome boy, per say. Well, actually, there were a few times after joint training sessions where he took off his sweaty shirt, and damn if he didn’t have the best pair of abs Sakura has seen outside of teen magazines. Not to mention his arms, which are more toned than any other boy his age and—

_Oh my god._

Naruto is poking Sakura in the shoulder, saying something about Karin and the greenhouse and who her secret admirer is, but Sakura is caught in a revelation of her own.

Naruto speaks up at the same time as Sakura.

“Lee is your secret admirer.”

and

“I think I have a crush on Lee.”

Oh.

 

\----

 

Sakura lays in bed that night, mulling the situation over with a giddiness she hasn’t felt since her academy days, when she had a stupid crush on Sasuke of all people.

Because as nice as having a mystery admirer was, there was no guarantee it would be someone Sakura liked back.

But this is Lee. Lee, who thought so hard about exactly what kind of flowers he’d give to Sakura, despite their rarity and price tag.

Lee, who is one of the most hardworking and talented Chunin in the village, well on his way to a Jounin promotion with Taijutsu alone.

Lee, who’s so incredibly nice and kind. He’s the kind of boy Sakura could bring home to her parents, who’d make her laugh and always treat her right. He has all the optimism of Naruto with none of the obnoxiousness. She remembers his friendly words this afternoon, the absolute sincerity still ringing in her ears. In fact, Lee has always been friendly and respectful towards Sakura. He’s the first to complement her after a training session, the first to greet her as their teams pass each other on the street. Even when he compliments her looks, it’s not at all creepy or uncomfortable.

Lee, who looks so damn good without his shirt on, all lean muscle on a body carefully honed for the art of Taijutsu. Sakura is quite familiar with human biology—she knows a specimen when she sees one. His eyebrows, which once looked goofy when paired with his bowlcut, are masculine and handsome with his new undercut. Speaking of his undercut, Sakura thanks whoever inspired that idea. She’s been so busy these past few weeks, she hadn’t really noticed, but Lee has switched out his jumpsuit for nice button up shirts and a new haircut. It reminds her of two years ago, when Sasuke started wearing brighter colors to draw Naruto’s attention. She wonders if it’s an intentional thing on Lee’s part, or if it was advised by his teammates, as a way to subconsciously impress Sakura.

Maybe she’s reading too much into things.

But who’s going to blame Sakura for a little fantasy? She’s still a kid, after all.

She falls asleep for the second night in a row to the sight of now blooming peonies. 

 

\----

 

Sakura sleeps in the next day, and when she finally wakes, it’s to the sound of birds chirping. There’s a smile on her face she can’t seem to dismiss.

Her parents are, as usual, at the breakfast table. Sakura greets them kindly, taking her breakfast to go.

Before she leaves, her mother tells her she looks good.

Sakura agrees with the assessment. 

Her eye bags have receded, thanks to a few extra hours of sleep. Her face is makeup free, because Sakura is still herself, positive attitude or not.

She’s wearing one of her favorite shirts, a soft green top with a white tree pattern running across it. She shoved it in her closet a few years ago when she started developing muscles on her arms, because the shirt was sleeveless and drew even more attention to her arms. But now, she wants to show off her strength. It’s an asset, not an insecurity. She’s also donned a pair of comfortable jeans and black boots to keep her feet warm in the crisp autumn air.

Her closely cropped hair is combed out for once, falling around her face in gentle layers. It’s not feminine and elegant like Ino or Kushina-san, but it’s chic and practical, just like Sakura.

All in all, her appearance isn’t that different from normal. Rather, it’s the way she feels inside: self-confident, happy, and relaxed.

She sets off on the path to the flower shop.

 

\----

 

Ino is waiting behind the counter when she gets there, even though she doesn’t work on Sundays. She’s here because Sakura asked her to be, fully informed on the situation. Ino is good with this sort of thing, and she’ll probably hype Sakura up and give her some extra confidence for she's setting out to do today.

Sakura manages to keep her tone steady as she asks for a custom bouquet.

Ino is unsurprised by the question, merely responding, “What type? Do you want to go with look or meaning?”

“Both,” Sakura says firmly.

“Well,” Ino huffs out with a small smile, “I think I’ve got the perfect thing for you.”

She walks out from behind the counter, heading over to the far wall of the room, where she pulls out some wild-looking white flowers.

“Tardiva hydrangeas, which express gratitude towards the recipient. They’re a fall bloom, perfect for the weather outside.”

Sakura examines them for a moment, admiring the unique shape and natural beauty.

“They’re great, but I’m worried that it’ll be a bit too simple,” she says with a slight frown.

Ino is already pulling out another batch of flowers, a knowing smile on her face.

“That’s why I think we should do a mixed bouquet.”

She holds out the pink flowers for Sakura to look at.

“Cherry blossoms are only available in spring, but I’m sure the girl named Sakura knew that already. I think apple blossoms are a good fall substitute. They’re romantic as any other flower, and awfully reminiscent of a certain someone’s unique hair color.” Ino grins slyly.

Damn it if Ino isn’t good at her job.

The two flowers offset each other beautifully, with spot on meanings and a natural simplicity Sakura is sure her admirer will appreciate just as much as she does.

Ino takes the flowers up to the front, wrapping them up in a soft green tissue paper, throwing some filler greenery into the bouquet for complexity.

Once she’s wrapped them up, Sakura speaks up.

“How much is it gonna be?”

“Free of charge,” Ino says with a wink. “We have a special discount for first time lovers...I mean, first time buyers.”

Sakura’s whole face goes red. She was a fool to think that she’d get out of this without a little bit of teasing.

Still, Sasuke will be glad to hear that. Maybe the temptation of a deal will finally give him the courage to get Naruto some freaking sunflowers or tiger lilies, once they’re in season. Hell, maybe he’ll just follow Sakura’s example and take Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen already. 

As if summoned by thought, Naruto is waiting for her outside the entrance. He’s exactly on time, like a proper friend should be.

If he’s here, that means Lee is almost done with his morning training regiment, working on a cool down in Training Ground 4.

Naruto is here to intercept any obstacles that might come up, and to ensure Sakura’s privacy once she gets to the Training Grounds. This town is too nosy already.

She starts down the road, her shoulders confidently set, and her pace measured, Naruto a warm, reassuring presence at her side.

Soon enough, the Training Ground comes into view before them. Lee has stripped off his shirt, and Sakura takes care not to leave her mouth hanging open for too long. 

Naruto has peeled off. This is something Sakura will have to do on her own, without the help of any friends or family or teachers.

_You’ve got this, Haruno._

She calls out to Lee, not wanting to sneak up on him.

He turns around, a big smile on his face before growing still at the sight of the bouquet in Sakura’s hand.

“Sakura-chan,” he stutters out, “if this is about the peonies, I am sincerely sorry for crossing any of your boundaries or making you uncomfortable. I wanted to cheer you up because you seemed so stressed out lately, but I realize now it was a poor idea and I shouldn’t have--”

“Lee,” Sakura interrupts kindly, “it’s okay. It was a lovely gesture. One I decided to reciprocate.”

She holds out the bouquet to Lee, who takes them gingerly.

“Hydrangeas for gratitude and apple blossoms for...affection,” Lee mumbles to himself, his face growing red at the implications.

Sakura nods. Of course this boy knows freaking flower language. 

Definitely a keeper, she muses to herself.

“You mentioned yesterday that my schedule has freed up significantly. And you’re right. I’m free for dinner tonight. And tomorrow. And Wednesday. And next week.”

Fuck it, Sakura’s not going to feel ashamed of her over eagerness—she’s young and allowed to make a fool of herself like this.

Lee looks floored by the comment.

“It would be wonderful to join you for dinner in the springtime of our youth!” he affirms with a thumbs up and a gleaming smile.

Sakura laughs, charmed by his unabashed enthusiasm.

“Wonderful. I’ll see you tonight at six.” 

As she starts walking away, heart thumping frantically in her chest, she thinks of a better idea.

“Actually,” Sakura says, turning around to face Lee again, “I’m free for lunch right now. You down?”

“That would be even better,” Lee replies in a tone that borders on coy.

He grabs his shirt, throwing it on and sprinting up to Sakura.

As they head down the road away from Training Ground 4, a sharp autumn breeze blows over Konoha, rustling the nearby apple blossoms.

**Author's Note:**

> This went about 5,000 words over my original plan. Yikes!  
> Anyways, this was a pleasure to write. There's something lovely and vulnerable about a childhood crush. You're probably wondering why this isn't a Sakura/Ino story and my only reply is that if it was, I'd have to change the entire series to 'The Yamanaka Conundrum' because I literally wouldn't be able to write anything else except for that lovely wlw pairing. So Rock Lee it is because I like that pairing too, but it won't overtake any other stories in the universe.  
> Here's one other follow up thought: I have strong feelings about compulsory heterosexuality and performative femininity. I tried to avoid them to the best of my ability here, because women shouldn't feel like they have to dress up or act differently for the attention and affection of men. So, when Sakura fixes herself up a bit, it's because she feels better on the inside, and her outward appearance reflects that. Notice how her appearance doesn't actually change much. Also I want to make it clear that Sakura's self-esteem issues weren't solved by the attention of a boy. Whatever positive changes reflected are a result of taking immense stress and expectations off of a child. No wonder her mental health improved!
> 
> That's all, sorry for my rambling.
> 
> As always, I'm prospider on tumblr. Thanks for reading!


End file.
